For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

Photo: National Park Service

Image 2 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

Photo: National Park Service

Image 3 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor.

Photo: National Park Service

Image 4 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 5 of 25

Image 6 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 7 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 8 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 9 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 10 of 25

Image 11 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 12 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 13 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 14 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 15 of 25

Image 16 of 25

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

For the first time in a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom." when millions of flowers blanket the desert floor. (D. Milliard)

Photo: National Park Service

Image 17 of 25

More photos of Death Valley:

The sand dunes at Stove Pipe Wells in California's Death Valley National Park take on a sere splendor at sunset.

More photos of Death Valley:

The sand dunes at Stove Pipe Wells in California's Death Valley National Park take on a sere splendor at sunset.

Photo: Richard Nebesky, Lonely Planet Images

Image 18 of 25

The Ubehebe Crater, where magma met groundwater, in Death Valley National Park, Calif.

The Ubehebe Crater, where magma met groundwater, in Death Valley National Park, Calif.

Photo: Lindy Washburn, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Image 19 of 25

Unique salt structures form in the Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park where water combines with the natural salt deposits at 282-feet below sea level, Dec. 9, 2014.

Unique salt structures form in the Badwater Basin at Death Valley National Park where water combines with the natural salt deposits at 282-feet below sea level, Dec. 9, 2014.

Photo: Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times

Image 20 of 25

Image 21 of 25

Visitors to the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park are in for a treat when they visit the lowest spot in North America at 282-feet below sea level. The highest spot in the park, Telescope Peak (11,049') is reflected in the water. less

Visitors to the Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park are in for a treat when they visit the lowest spot in North America at 282-feet below sea level. The highest spot in the park, Telescope Peak ... more

Photo: Mark Boster, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Image 22 of 25

One of several hundred rocks that have left trails as they moved across the surface of Racetrack Playa in California's Death Valley National Park on August 18, 2014. There were several theories for the strange activity, but Richard Norris, a paleobiologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and his cousin James Norris, a research engineer, were the first to photograph rocks in motion. less

One of several hundred rocks that have left trails as they moved across the surface of Racetrack Playa in California's Death Valley National Park on August 18, 2014. There were several theories for the strange ... more

Photo: Louis Sahagun, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Image 23 of 25

Desert Gold flowers bloom in fields lining Highway 190 from Stove Pipe Wells to Furnace Creek, Sunday, March 22, 1998, in Death Valley National Monument in Calif. Park rangers say the El Nino rains have created the best spring wildflower display in 30 years, with many species blooming that have not in recent years. less

Desert Gold flowers bloom in fields lining Highway 190 from Stove Pipe Wells to Furnace Creek, Sunday, March 22, 1998, in Death Valley National Monument in Calif. Park rangers say the El Nino rains have created ... more

Photo: Andrew Faulkner, Associated Press

Image 24 of 25

Lightning at Death Valley: Remember, every five seconds from flash to bang represents 1 mile away in distance -- that's how you know if you're in danger

Lightning at Death Valley: Remember, every five seconds from flash to bang represents 1 mile away in distance -- that's how you know if you're in danger

Photo: Tim Gamble, Weather.com

Image 25 of 25

Millions of flowers blanket Death Valley in first 'super bloom' in a decade

1 / 25

Back to Gallery

In a land of extremes, where a barren valley floor sinks below sea level, rain rarely falls and summer temperatures reach a toasty 120 degrees, a riot of color has exploded.

For the first time in over a decade, Death Valley National Park is experiencing a "super bloom," when millions of wildflowers blanket the barren desert.

As the driest place in North America, Death Valley receives about two inches of annual rainfall on average, but last October a series of storms walloped the basin. In one area, three inches of rain fell in just five hours. It's this fall soaking, experts say, that have triggered the spring blooms.

How to Book an American Airlines Business Class Seat For the Price of EconomyMedia: Travel & Leisure

This is the best display since 2005 and many wildflower enthusiasts are referring to it as a "super bloom."

"I'm not really sure where the term 'super bloom' originated, but when I first came to work here in the early 1990s I kept hearing the old timers talk about super blooms as a near mythical thing–the ultimate possibility of what a desert wildflower bloom could be," Park Ranger Alan Van Valkenburg said in a press statement.

He added: "I saw several impressive displays of wildflowers over the years and always wondered how anything could beat them, until I saw my first super bloom in 1998. Then I understood. I never imagined that so much life could exist here in such staggering abundance and intense beauty."